SAM appoints ex-Tandberg Television's Cooney as coo

Snell Advanced Media (SAM) has appointed former Tandberg Television President Eric Cooney as President and Chief Executive Officer.

Cooney was coo of Tandberg Television, leading its merger with Ericsson Group in 2007 before taking on the coo role at IT services provider Internap Corp.

In his role as CEO of SAM, he will be charged with driving the growth and development of the group across its core markets.

The appointment will see Tim Thorsteinson step down as CEO after two years in role for personal reasons which, in the near to medium term, limit his ability to travel. Thorsteinson led the rebranding of the group as Snell Advanced Media (SAM). He will continue to be involved in an advisory capacity to the Board as part of a succession plan. He will also remain as a shareholder in SAM.

Commenting on his appointment, Eric Cooney said: “Snell Advanced Media has seen good growth in recent years, in what has been a challenging market impacted by the changing nature of end-user media consumption. This is testament to its commitment to innovation and integration, whilst keeping its customers front and centre. Having demonstrated the ability to adapt and evolve both organically and through M&A activity, this is an exciting time to be joining the group as we look to explore new ways to further drive market share and profitable growth within the media production industry.”

SAM is backed by LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group.

Chris Hurley, Chief Portfolio Officer of LDC, said: “We’d like to thank Tim for his important contribution to the success of Snell Advanced Media during his tenure as CEO. Eric brings a wealth of industry expertise from across the group's core markets as well as senior leadership experience in some of the sector's most successful firms. He is ideally placed to lead the team and further build on the business’ successes to date.”

Kevan Leggett, Chairman of SAM, said “Tim has done a fantastic job in first, stabilising the business and then creating and executing a strategy based on significant investment in new product development aligned to enhancing the sales team which has resulted in SAM’s sales growth significantly outperforming the overall market. I have enjoyed working with him and am delighted he remains involved. Eric has a proven track record of significant value creation and can build on the platform Tim has built to continue SAM’s success in the coming years.”